Compliance powers

Contributed by The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and current to 28 June 2019

The Equal Opportunity Act gives the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission the function to promote and advance the objectives of the Equal Opportunity Act. Outlined in section 3, these objectives are broad, and include:

In addition to the Commission's role in the resolution of disputes, the Equal Opportunity Act gives the Commission specific powers to facilitate compliance and encourage best practice. These powers include:

issuing practice guidelines relevant to the Equal Opportunity Act. Guidelines are not legally binding, but may be taken into consideration by a court or tribunal in relevant to legal proceedings (section 148)

conducting a review of an organisation's programs and practices for compliance with the Equal Opportunity Act (on request) (section 151)